Suction is widely employed in a Hospital environment to assist health care providers in the care of patients. On its most basic level, suction is used to remove fluids and debris from body cavities and is employed in virtually any location where patient care is needed.
Bodily fluids drawn through these suction lines are not typically of homogenous viscosity and may even be a suspension of both solid and liquid components. Certain applications dictate that very low levels of vacuum (<120 mm Hg) be used to remove these accumulated fluids. Such instances may be found when suctioning the airway and surrounds.
Low levels of vacuum are appropriate from a patient safety standpoint, but these low levels may not create adequate force to pull viscous fluids through the lines. Further, the suction lines are prone to blockage when very viscous fluids, congealed blood, or solid particles enter the vacuum circuit. Certain biological fluids may also congeal inside of the suction lines if the fluid is not constantly moving in the circuit.
The present standard of care for occluded suction lines begins with uncoupling the line downstream of the blockage. A conventional syringe is then used to draw any accumulated debris through the line. This syringe acts as a flow limited vacuum generating device.
Disadvantageously, uncoupling this line creates a vector for micro-organisms to enter the patient circuit. Uncoupling this line also exposes the health care provider and patient to cross contamination from each other or the environment. Each time a blockage occurs valuable time is dedicated to maintaining sterile technique. Further, additional disposable medical waste is also generated by these interventions.